St. Johnland Nursing Facility in Kings Park recently welcomed Pathways Stroke Foundation’s President Jean Marie Gibbs as she donated five new iPads as well as laptops to its Head Injury Rehabilitation Unit. The iPads will help facilitate much needed continued therapies throughout the day as well as providing patient-family communication.
Pathways Stroke Foundation was founded after Gibbs’s mother Agnes suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012. Her speech area was greatly affected leaving her with Aphasia and Apraxia. She had lost mobility of her right arm, limited mobility of her right leg as well as visual blockages.
Agnes’s rehabilitation at St. Johnland Head Injury Rehabilitation Unit (HIRU), consisted of almost three months of physical, speech and occupational therapy with her family at her side every step of the way. Due to Agnes’s severe speech deficit, it was crucial to find ways to communicate and recover to the best of her ability.
“The iPad was an instrumental tool in recovery of her stroke” said Gibbs. “Aggressive therapy is needed when learning to speak, walk and move again. Having the technology available to mom provided an outlet for her to continue her therapy throughout the day. With the many applications that are designed specifically for speaking, reading, writing as well as motor function, it gave mom independence to choose which apps worked best for her. Most importantly the iPad provided 24 hour support via FaceTime to keep in touch with family and friends especially when she was feeling afraid or lonely.”
Life had changed in a moment for Agnes, and each day was a path to recovery. “We stayed with mom from early morning to late evening providing the emotional and physical support so desperately needed during recovery.” says Jean Marie Gibbs. “However, there were many survivors in HIRU that did not have the same family support or the financial ability to own an iPad. I wanted to be an advocate for those in HIRU that felt there was no hope. Pathways Stroke Foundation has been the vehicle needed to provide the technology through our fundraising efforts.”
